A review by fujo_cat
A Metamorfose by Franz Kafka

reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Man, what a great book! The beginning was a bit boring ngl, but the ending, oh man! It was incredible how tragic and depressing the situation was - how irl we are valued mainly for our capacity to work.
People like Gregor, who can't work (be it due to mental or physical illness, disability, etc) are everywhere and we treat them just like his family did - first, ignoring there's even someone who needs help and understanding; then, treating them with disgust and pity; and finally, tired we have to give them our attention to look good, we throw them aside and leave them to die.
We live in a world in which bodies who can't work 24/7 are useless and therefore easily discarded, not even regarding them as people, only soldiers in their field.

People are more than their job; they are more than their paycheck. Reading this while in the pandemic hit especially hard... It's disgusting how accurate the way we treat others who can't work is. And the problem isn't "yeah, everyone should work!"; people shouldn't NEED to work as much as they do with the technology we now have. If we had a better planned economy who didn't rely on people literally dying for their paycheck to pay their nourishment and roof, we could stop having such a depressing way of looking at poor people and people who work at jobs considered "low-end", like retail.

Anyways, rant over. I really enjoyed this, especially considering its size-it's so tiny and yet the message is huge. 4/5 ⭐
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